Empty Rooms
by inexchangeforyoursoul
Summary: I looked into my txt folder, and found this fic… forgot that I had it, oops. Anyway, more Shigaraki and Deku interaction stuff. (tl;dr: people getting Shigaraki drunk and Deku regretting to be part of it; now he's dragging him to bed because the dude passed out)


As good as the idea of spiking the drink seemed at first, Izuku deeply regretted jumping the bandwagon of people insisting on Black Mist pulling these shenanigans. The man of dark matter felt likewise for giving into the demand; on one hand, because Shigaraki wouldn't have accepted any suspicious drinks from another person anyway- and on the other hand, there was no one else to blame for mentioning that he was good at dancing, but needed some "encouragement" first.

Once the alcohol kicked in, he started to talk… and talk and talk and talk, with no end in sight; and it was about some of the goofiest things ever. The fact alone, that it was a likely possibility that he would ponder over stuff like humming birds on a daily basis, was amusing enough news in itself and Worth It® (and also not something anyone would let him live down any time soon). Then he hoppled over to the makeshift stage to start the main event, and truth to be told, Black Mist definitely was not wrong; Tomura was a sight to behold. And when he started to sing through the whole of the second song, everyone was just looking for their jaws on the floor- no one expected those crystal clear tones from him due to his usual drawled and gruff speech, but there you go. Even more importantly, he performed that Lady Gaga song with a straight face and also knew the lyrics by heart… it was slightly disturbing, but mainly just amazing. At that point, it was all just fine.

After roughly 30 minutes of dumbfounded ogling, laughter and hyped shouts from the audience, though… he was getting tuckered out. And a few minutes after Black Mist noticed the first signs and let him sit down in a corner, it happened. The meltdown.

Izuku was not sure what to expect when replacing Black Mist who had the bar to manage, but remembering the times when the other was absolutely beside himself, hissing and roaring… this was definitely not it. He was just, despite hardly moving a muscle after all that jumping around, still very talkative (albeit at a much slower pace), with a serene smile across his face. And the previous, mostly random topics changed to personal stuff. _Very_ personal stuff, things he wouldn't mention under any other circumstances. Like when he snapped and poured all his helpless anger on All Might, only… there was no anger, quite the contrary. The tone had a desolate, even sad touch to it.

In fact, the young hero had never seen him more at peace than back there, the dim corner of a room, leaking a flood of words at a leisure pace. Words about how he wanted to be a stage actor when he was little. How he'd always wanted to learn playing the guitar but never actually tried to as he would have almost definitely vaporized the instruments by the dozen if he tried it at a young age and how by now he just, kind of, gave up on and made peace with it. About what it feels like to lose your voice after screaming for too long and to no avail. How tall, empty rooms can make any sound terrifying. About how tall the ceilings in the house he used to live in were. About figuring out basic reading skills himself from the television and children's books. He told Izuku about the children he saw from the windows, playing on the street. Him wanting to join them, but being too afraid to ask for permission. His room, and all the time he spent with games and watching heroes on the screen. How Father had always so much to do. How there was nobody ever at home.

All these things the other would have rather never known.

The implications sank in and the initial regret grew into guilt, sprouting from somewhere deep within, a place Izuku couldn't quite pinpoint. It resonated like an echo in an empty room- a silent scream of a ghost from generations past. Then he noticed the silence. Tomura had fallen asleep.

And now he was carrying the other up the stairs so they can get some rest. Good thing he got a last growth sprout in the past two years, because otherwise even this piggyback business would have been quite a hassle- provided Black Mist wouldn't have just plopped the boy haphazardly into bed between preparing two drinks if he had been still as short as when they first met. Hell, he wasn't all that short in the first place; Tomura had always been the one way too tall for his own good.

"Remember when I told you… how fucking much I hate most things?"

Izuku jumps a little, being caught off guard by the half-awake Tomura. He takes a deep breath, and recalls the situation… which was not a pleasant one. But that's beside the point; he hums. Yes, he does remember.

"You are not one of them."

He stops in his tracks, and would also say something if he could think of anything at all- and if his tired companion did not doze off once more. After idling around for a few seconds, he eventually cracks a little smile- the weird ball of anxiety disappears as well. If there is a chance that he could make things work with Izuku, he is going to be fine. Shimura Tenko is going to be fine. And Izuku would make sure of that- no more empty rooms.


End file.
